So, I finally have some spare time again, now that I have written my math test. Upcoming blogs will hopefully be about contributing to OpenJDK, and my attempts to install Nexenta/GnuOpenSolaris in order to use DTrace to help improve JRuby, Netbeans and other worthy open source projects.
In the meantime, a short post about games. People have been talking about PC gaming on the decline, but I'm not seeing it. The sales numbers are for US retail stores only, and PC stales are much bigger in Europe, and online sales through sites like Steam. These numbers conveniently also tend to ignore monthly MMORPG sales... if you include all those, I wouldn't be surprised if the PC is actually #1 in sales. I already know it is #1 in quality...
In fact, there are more good games to play than I have spare time. Real role playing games (as I define them.... not action games like Diablo or cliched linear JRPGs, but games where you actually play a role and have an impact on the world through your choices) are having a mini-revival it seems like. Neverwinter Nights 2 was pretty fun, a definite improvement on NWN1 and the closest I've gotten in a long time to recapuring the old Baldur's Gate magic, but I felt it didn't quite live up to its potential. Now that NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer is here, I think it has. There are other modules on the way for that game, both commercial and free (Black Hound and Planescape Trilogy look really promising). Also The Witcher looks good, though I haven't played it yet. Dragon Age should be released soon (I hope). Many shooters are growing up, becoming smarter, and finally becoming more inspired by Warren Specter and less by Carmack. Plot and mood are important. Bioshock, Portal are two good examples. Hey, even adventure games are back! Sam & Max season One was fantastic.
And then there are all the casual games! Bookworm Adventures and Puzzle Pirates are two excellent ones. The last one is even free!
Also thanks to Steam you can get previously hard to find classics like Vampire: Bloodlines and Psychonauts cheaply.
Friday, November 2, 2007
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